


a moment away

by bestie



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M, lapslock, vaguely angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 10:43:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17558855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bestie/pseuds/bestie
Summary: eimhin glanced up at cullen with a glare, a flash of narrowed blue and fade-green-ringed eyes, as he repeated, “i’m sorry.” then, softer, he said, “let me help you clean that up, yeah?”





	a moment away

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by prompt 2 from /r/dragonage's writing thread: _spilled wine, a gleam of green, a chuckle, a sigh, delight._ clearly got away from me and became too long for a drabble, so i'm posting it here instead. :)

the glass of wine in the inquisitor’s hand was upright one moment, and overturned the next, right onto the front of cullen’s uniform. scandalized gasps raised from the crowd of admirers he’d gathered.  
  
“oh, _maker_ ,” eimhin swore. “i’m so sorry—“  
  
cullen scooted back from eimhin’s inquisitive hands that reached for his shirt, all too aware of the constantly-judging stares surrounding them. “no, no, it’s fine—“  
  
eimhin glanced up at cullen with a glare, a flash of narrowed blue and fade-green-ringed eyes, as he repeated, “ _i’m sorry_.” then, softer, he said, “let me help you clean that up, yeah?

that was when it clicked. “oh,” said cullen, rather dumbly, as his mind processed what was being implied. “why, yes, i— that would be…” he looked around at the mask-covered faces of the men and women who’d been hounding him thus far, and cleared his throat pointedly. “yes,” he continued, looking back to eimhin and offering him a small, shy smile. “that would be _very_ appreciated.”

eimhin chuckled. “good. it’ll stain, otherwise.” he looked over cullen’s shoulder and said to the admirers, “ _je vous demande pardon_. we’ll be very, very quick.” they gave their protests, but eimhin ignored them, instead taking cullen by the arm and whisking him away.

they moved quickly. cullen merely let eimhin lead him wherever he pleased, struggling somewhat just to keep up with him. just that was a sight to see - the fluidity of the way eimhin weaved between guests, how he was careful to intermingle his rushed common-tongue apologies with polite, lilting orlesian for those who visibly had higher stature. really, cullen could never have expected it from eimhin, who was so usually rough-and-tumble, never one to stop and think about what he said. he was...in his element, it almost seemed.

cullen, with his shirt stained with wine, his hair frizzing, his forehead just mildly sweaty, his words consistently failing and his orlesian far rustier than he would like, was considerably _out_ of his element. watching eimhin would be enough though, he figured. maybe he’d pick up a few tricks for the next gathering, maker forbid there had to even be another.

as they moved through the crowd, they passed by leliana. she said nothing to them, only raised a brow and waved her hand to the left — _that way,_ it seemed to mean. eimhin thanked her with a bow of his head, then tugged cullen in that direction. they traversed through the hall, skipping past door after door, none seemingly good enough for eimhin, until they reached a dead end. a large set of doors, presumably locked, seemed like they’d block their escape, but eimhin merely let go of cullen’s arm to push them open.

he looked back at cullen, eyes practically gleaming with mischief. “we haven’t got much time,” he said, pausing, giving cullen a chance to speak.

to turn back, as it were.

but cullen merely smiled and stepped forward to help eimhin push the doors open further. they slipped past them, and closed them with a quiet click. only a brief look around told cullen they’d hidden away within what seemed to be a storage room. how this had been found, and why it’d been unlocked, cullen didn’t want to know. all he knew was that, alone at last, they had peace.  
  
cullen leaned against the door to take a breath, his brow furrowing. “there must have been better ways to make our escape, inquisitor,” he said, lightly admonishing eimhin as he approached. “josephine will have our heads for staining this...and for causing a scene, surely.“

“are you mad?”

eimhin looked down at him, concern clear. he placed a hand on cullen’s waist, the other atop the stain, which had begun to dry already.

cullen sighed and, despite it all, managed another smile. “at you? maker, no. never. merely all this pomp and circumstance.”

eimhin smiled too, so wide that the vallaslin so carefully carved around his eyes wrinkled with delight. “a fair thing to be angry at,” he murmured, pressing closer to cullen. his head bowed low enough that the tips of their noses brushed and, after a moment’s hesitation, he leaned in further to press their lips together.

bliss. just for a moment.

when cullen’s eyes opened, eimhin had already pulled away. his mouth suddenly felt dry, so he licked at his lips. and his cheeks, andraste curse them - he _knew_ they were red, knew they were burning. such a simple kiss reduced him to a blushing mess, and it was an embarrassment.

but eimhin merely watched him with muted amusement, his teeth catching on his own lower lip as he bit back a laugh. “if those admirers of yours ask what we did,” he said as his hands slid to the sash draped across cullen’s chest, “i hope you’ll give them a good story. somethin’ to get them talkin’.”

“there’s likely to be enough scandal tonight. i doubt we need to add anything else to the pot.

“you think so?” eimhin clicked his tongue. his fingers worked with purpose, undoing cullen’s sash, careful not to disturb any of the decorations pinned to it, and adjusting it so it covered the stain. as he worked, he continued to speak: “there’s always room for more scandal in orlais. at least that’s what leliana told me. josephine might disagree, but if i had a choice between the two…” he trailed off as he finished tying the knot to secure cullen’s sash. another pause, another moment to pull away, and when cullen did not move nor say anything, eimhin leaned in, peppering cullen’s stubbled jaw with kisses. “i think i know which i’d choose, commander,” he said quietly, his breath tickling cullen’s skin beneath his lips.

cullen shuddered, head tipping back so eimhin had the room to move lower, slowly, wherever he could reach that wasn’t covered by the high collar of their uniforms. “of course you would,” cullen breathed, a hand kneading at eimhin’s shoulder. “there are those of us, though, who— who...“

“who what?”

eimhin drew himself up, keeping the distance between them small as he gazed into cullen’s eyes, daring him to speak. to end it. always giving him the chance. as if cullen even _could_ , not when he was so head-over-heels—

 _oh, maker_. cullen swore internally at himself as his gaze roamed the expanse of eimhin’s face, over every knick and freckle and dot of ink, and swallowed thickly, forcing down the sudden urge to voice any unwarranted feelings. they were not there, not at all. eimhin was a dalliance, a wartime distraction—and cullen was to eimhin as well. surely.

“there are those of us,” said cullen, finally managing to speak up, “who prefer to leave people guessing.”

eimhin paused again, this time to think. he visibly thought over that statement, eyes narrowed, until he laughed as it all connected. “clever idea for such a brute,” he mused, smiling widely. “tell me this, then: do you _want_ to leave them guessing, commander?”

oh, it was tempting. but before cullen had the chance to respond, there was a heavy knock on the door, followed by a gruff voice. “inquisitor?”

cullen stiffened. it was blackwall.

eimhin immediately backed away, motioning with his head for cullen to move aside. he did, and then eimhin approached the door, let out a sharp sigh, then opened it, angling it and himself carefully enough that cullen would’ve been blocked from view. “trouble?” was all he asked.

“that and then some,” said blackwall. “leliana told me where to find you. i know you needed a breather, but—“

“it’s fine. i’ve gotten a handle on it now. gather cassandra and cole and we’ll meet in the courtyard, alright? just...give me a moment.”

“understood, inquisitor.”

the door closed, and eimhin turned to cullen with an expression that said it all— _i’m sorry, i have to go._

“don’t worry about me,” said cullen, not even allowing eimhin a chance to actually apologize as he waved a hand in dismissal. “our mission is more important. you go on ahead; i’ll follow after a minute or two.”

“cullen—”

“don’t worry,” cullen repeated. he smiled. “we’ll just have to leave them guessing, won’t we?”

eimhin smiled back, but it seemed hard. he shrugged his shoulders. “s’pose so.” he opened the door, posed to leave, but stopped in the doorway for a moment. “i’ll find you later,” he added. there was something in his eyes, a sort of searching, a yearning, but cullen pushed that thought away, not allowing himself the imagination. “promise.”

cullen straightened up, his shoulders squaring. he had to ignore the worries now invading his mind, had to at least _act_ like a commander confident in his charge. “i’ll hold you to it,” he said quietly.

eimhin nodded. “until later, then.”

and then the door closed, and cullen was alone.


End file.
